Coach journeys
by Cranberriez
Summary: This one's a bit weird, and I'm not entiresly happy with it. It's just random musings, really. From the point of view of Dominic Howard.


I hate coach journeys.

Not only because of the fact that you feel sick, you have a headache, you need the toilet, you're hungry, you're thirsty, you're bored, you're uncomfortable… the list goes on. No, not only because of that. It's because you have at least 20 other people in a confined space with you feeling _exactly the same things._

Which is why I chose a window seat, not too near the back where all the popular kids sit playing music and throwing sweets, but not too near the front with all the teachers where it'd be unnecessarily boring and awkward. I was also quite pleased that there was an odd number of us, so I was in with a chance of being able to sit on my own, without someone next to me jabbering away in my ear.

But that seemed to be where my luck ran out. I felt someone take the seat beside me and I immediately turned my head away and looked out of the window to show that I _wasn't interested._ But they didn't realise.

"How long are we on the coach for?"

Oh, and even worse, it was a _girl_. They always want to chat. I wouldn't mind, normally, infact I'd relish the female attention, but not on a coach. Anywhere but on a _coach_…

"Dunno. Ask a teacher." Was my muffled reply, half said from under my hand where I'd slumped down so low when leaning on it that it had covered my mouth.

And she did. In a very loud voice, as well. I sneakily glanced at her while she was doing so. I think her name was Katie, she was in my maths class, but she didn't sit anywhere near me. I'd seen her around school, though, but I don't think I'd ever talked to her before. When she'd got her answer from the teacher (which I made an effort not to hear; I didn't want to know how long I'd be stuck in this seat or I'd be forever looking at my phone, counting down the minutes) she turned back around, prompting me to do so as well. I didn't want to be caught staring, I wasn't in the mood for dishing out winks, which is what I'd have normally done if caught.

"4 and a half hours. Can you _believe_ it?" She said, making a face. I closed my eyes and clenched my jaw, trying not to get frustrated.

"Yes I can, actually." I hoped that an answer she didn't expect would shut her up.

"Well, fair enough. I hate coach journeys." She replied, and I stared at the back of the seat in front of me, gritting my teeth.

"Not as much as I do."

She looked at me, then. "I'm sorry, am I annoying you?" I didn't answer, hoping that my silence would be enough. But still she carried on. "It's Dom, right?"

"Yes, to both questions."

She smirked, and looked away. I rolled my eyes and looked out of the window again. The engine had started and we were pulling out of the school gates. A loud cheer went up from the back of the coach and my eyes made another journey to the heavens before scrunching closed, trying to block it out.

"If you really don't want to be here, why on Earth did you sign the form?" Katie must've noticed.

"It's just the coach I don't like. The trip'll be fine." I was actually quite looking forward to a week away from home near the coast. A chance to get a decent tan, at last. And possibly get laid along the way. That was worth two coach journeys.

"Why don't you do something to take your mind off the coach rather than just… wallowing in-" She trailed off. I turned to her.

"What?" I wanted to add 'the hell are you on about' but I thought that might be a little rude.

"I dunno, I'm just trying to… help…"

"Well don't." I turned away again.

She actually shut up for 56 seconds. Yep, I counted.

"I thought you'd be worth sitting next to." She broke the silence between us. Of course, the rest of the coach was far from silent. I just smiled, without humour. "Thought you might be able to hold a decent conversation."

"What, so now you're trying to _insult_ me in to talking?" I turned to look at her again. I was going to get a crick in my neck if I kept this up.

She didn't look at all offended as her last two sentences might have suggested, just amused. "Well, it worked, didn't it?"

I did the highly embarrassing thing where you open your mouth to say something, can't think of anything to say, and end up looking like a fish.

She smirked.

"You know, Dominic Howard, when you're in a situation that you're not comfortable with, you're _completely_ different to how you are at school." She said, her voice lifted with mirth.

"And how exactly _am_ I at school?"

"A complete flirt."

Wow. I hadn't expected her to be so blunt.

"Fair enough." I muttered, raising my eyebrows.

A pause. But I had to know more.

"Really?" I said.

"Well, yeah." She said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. But then she saw my face and began to doubt herself. "I thought it was intentional."

"It is, it's just…" I couldn't think of how to say it. "Is that _all_ people think of me?"

"Pretty much." She said hesitantly, scared of offending me.

"Oh." I looked away. I wasn't _upset, _I was proud of the reputation I held. I was just… disappointed that no one could see anything else.

"I mean, I've never really spoken to you before, so…"

"Don't defend yourself, it's okay. It's good to know what people really think of me." I raised the arm closest to her and rubbed the back of my neck.

"Sorry if I've-"

"You haven't."

She stopped talking, then. I had five minutes of peace and quiet and silence to myself before we stopped at services, but it was horribly awkward. When we boarded the coach again a few people had taken their bags off with them, so they were now able to move seats. I hadn't, I wanted to keep my window seat. But as I sat back down I realised two things. Katie had now gone to sit somewhere else, and I wasn't glad for the lack of company.

I spent the rest of the coach journey twisted round in my seat, talking to Matt who was sat two rows behind me on the other side of the coach. It was extremely uncomfortable, and I got a headache, but I wouldn't have missed him chucking an open sachet of ketchup at Mrs. Grogan for anything. And to top it all, I got into a conversation with two girls sat behind me, and ended up with two new contacts in my phonebook. When we finally arrived at our destination, the whole trip only seemed five minutes long.

Maybe coach journeys aren't that bad.


End file.
